At Women in the Food Industry we are continuing our series of interviews with the strong female line-up of chefs on Great British Menu from across Britain competing to serve their dish at the final banquet. Our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, interviewed private chef Nikita Pathakji creating bespoke menus for her clients, using all her skills garnered over her experience in Michelin kitchens.

Great British Menu (GBM) returned to our screens on 24 February 2026 for season 21. The BBC2 show puts the nation’s most talented chefs to the test. At Women in the Food Industry we are continuing our series of interviews with the strong female line-up of chefs from across Britain competing to serve their dish at the final banquet. Our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, interviewed private chef  Louisa Ellis who is creating bespoke tasting menus for her clients utilising the skills she learnt from working in Michelin-starred kitchens.

Great British Menu (GBM) returned to our screens on 24 February 2026 for season 21. The BBC2 show puts the nation’s most talented chefs to the test. At Women in the Food Industry we are continuing our series of interviews with the strong female line-up of chefs from across Britain competing to serve their dish at the final banquet. Our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, interviewed yacht chef Hannah Rose – the youngest female head chef working in the superyacht world.

It is another great year for women chefs in The Roux Scholarship: four women from establishments across the UK are getting ready to compete at the regional finals on 5th March 2026. Among them are two chefs, Katherine Altham and Nikoletta Theofylaktidou, who both competed in the national final in 2025. They are joined by two other women chefs, Rosie Bull from The Black Swan at Oldstead, and Jasmin Layzell who both entered for the first time this year.

Now in its 21st anniversary year, BBC Two’s Great British Menu welcomes Phil Wang to the judging panel.  The cookery competition for the very best professional chefs has been filming the latest series in Stratford upon Avon and will return to our screens on 24 February 2026. Read on to find out more and discover the theme for 2026.

On 10th February 2026 Mex Ibrahim – co-founder of Women In The Food Industry presented at Spill The Beans first ever drinks edition.   Spill The Beans is the UK’s only event connecting multicultural FMCG brands with supermarket buyers.  Mex was invited to deliver a 10-minute TED-style talk exploring how women are reshaping the drinks landscape.

Women in the Food Industry are trade supporters of IFE – the ultimate business event for food & drink product discovery, bringing together three inspiring days of innovation, shaking up the sector.  The IFE seminar programme includes two panels led by Women in The Food Industry: Mood Busting Nutrition on 30 March & Plant-based Food Transformation on 31 March. Find out more

Join our International Women’s Day 2026 Events  –  Women In the Food Industry (WIFI) Newsletter

Our latest newsletter introduced all of our Women In the Food Industry events for International Women’s Day events leading up to IWD on 8 March 2026. 

The best way to keep up to date with all of our news, opportunities, events, features and podcasts is to subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter.

2026 Events & International Women’s Day Sneak Peek  –  Women In the Food Industry Newsletter – Our latest newsletter from Women in The Food Industry has new events for 2026 and awards to enter for January. The best way to keep up to date with all of our news, opportunities, events, features and podcasts is to subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter. You can late January newsletter here.

Early 2026 Events  –  Women In the Food Industry Newsletter
Our latest newsletter from Women in The Food Industry has new events for 2026 and plenty of awards to enter for the New Year. The best way to keep up to date with all of our news, opportunities, events, features and podcasts is to subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter.

December Events 2025  –  Women In the Food Industry Newsletter

Our latest newsletter from Women in The Food Industry had a recap of our Christmas Party, new events for 2026 and awards to enter in January 2026. The best way to keep up to date with all of our news, opportunities, events, features and podcasts is to subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter.

Now in its sixth year, The Staff Canteen Awards continue to shine a spotlight on every corner of the hospitality industry. This year the awards saw over 300 nominations across eight categories and more than 52,000 votes cast by The Staff Canteen’s members and social media followers – the biggest response yet. We are delighted that our co-founder Mex Ibrahim, made the finals and won the Hospitality Hero category.